Brodie's first night at puppy class

[JD102175]

Well, last night was our first puppy class. Even though Brodie isn't quite as much a puppy as the other pups there. Most were under 20 weeks and then there is 10 month old Brodie.lol. Anyways, as we walked in we got some of the typical "Oh my god it's a Rottweiler" stares. We ignored them. The first thing the trainer did was take attendance, there are about 15 pups in class. And then she explained how she was going to run the class, which is with positive re-enforcement. As for collar choices, she lets the owners decide what they want to use. We use a Prong collar for Brodie and a few of the others there had prongs for their pups too. Brodie is the only Rottie in the class. It's was really funny seeing him next to the Chihuahua(sp?) pup Jack.

The first thing we did with the dogs was play "Pass the Puppy". So, we handed Brodie off to the person on our left and we inturn recieved a very nice little Sheltie pup. This is an exercise in socialization, so the dogs get used to having other people handle them. With the first pup we were supposed to play with it's feet and toes to get it accustomed to having people handle the feet for clipping. We passed that pup on and the next pup we played with it's feet and ears, then the next pup was feet, ears and tail. The last pup we ended up with we were to put our fingers in it's mouth and massage the gums and rub the teeth for future teeth brushings. Well, as the trainer told us to do that I looked down the line to where Brodie was. The look on the guys face that had him was classic!!! I could just hear him saying "HE** NO!!! There's no way I'm sticking my fingers in there." But he eventually did and there were no problems. In fact, everyone that had Brodie commented on what a nice, calm dog he is. Chalk one up for the Rottie's!!!

After pass the puppy we worked on the "sit" command. Which Brodie knows pretty well, but he still needs some work. The first thing the trainer said was, Do not push down on the dogs backside, these are growing puppies and we don't want to jam something that's not meant to be jammed. So she showed us the right way which is to pull back on the leash and sweep your hand/arm under the dogs rear. Our homework for the next class is a 10 second sit/stay. With the right "motivation"(meaning food) Brodie will do a sit/stay for almost a minute, so we've got a good foundation to start with.

Next week we start on the "down" command which Brodie does not know at all. So, that should be fun!!

Overall, I'd say puppy class was a pretty successful adventure.

Sorry this is so long.

Jaime

[Roscoe's dad]

I will bet by the 3rd class Brodie is further ahead than the rest of the pups.

[LORHEL]

Sounds like Brodie had a good time.. ;) Don't worry about all the people and their looks, because once they see what a good dog he is, they will forget all about their misconceptions.... good luck with your classes!! :)

[Simba]

I started Simba in Class when he was 12 weeks old. Even at that young age people gave him dirty looks when we first came in. Funny because he was by far the youngest dog in the class. By the 3rd week he had won everyone over and people could not believe how fast he learned and how friendly he was. Simba was always the trainer's first pic to show everyone how to teach the puppies something new.
Good luck in class, Brodie will be the star!

[Birdie'sMom]

Not only was Birdie the only rottweiler in her puppy class and basic obedience class, she was just about the only "big" dog. The rest were Bichon Frise's, Lhasa Apsa's and dogs like that. I knew it made the small dog owners a little uneasy at first, but I'd say by the second class they new she was super sweet! They used to tease me and say that I had the "teacher's pet" beacuse Birdie was the only one who knew everything! It was so cute because she wanted to play with the smaller dogs, so she would lay down next to them so she could be at their level! We called the Lhasa Apsa Birdie's dentist, becasue she would lick inside Birdie's mouth and Birdie would just sit their with her mouth open like she was getting her teeth checked! It was so adorable!!

[Knucklesmom]

Knuckles started puppy class at about 9 weeks. He was the only Rottweiler, but not he biggest pup in the crowd. He slept - and I mean slept - through the first class! I guess he loved that nice, cool linoleum floor! The instructor absolutely loved him; she always gave him a hug and used him to demonstrate a new behavior because he was so calm. During playtime, he was placed with the little dogs - a little Jack Russell terrier, a dachsund, and some other little guys. I wonder if it had anything to do with sharing the house with a 4 lb. Yorkie?

[JD102175]

We mostly have small dogs in our class too. quite a few Shelties, a schnauzer(sp?), and the itty bitty Chihuahua named Jack. There are a couple dogs that are a little bigger. A few of the labs look to be about 5 months old, and there's an older Shepherd pup in class also. But, Brodie is by far the biggest dog there right now.


Jaime

[Jaegergirl]

Maverick, my 5 mon. old, and I just finished our last class (beginners) and at the end the trainers did a mock dog show. We placed 3rd out of 11 dogs (were were only 2 pts behind the 1st place dog). it was fun.

I was suprised how calm my pup was compared to some of the others (a lab, a husky). My pup is pretty laid back thank goodness!!!

I didn't really get any looks til we went to our first intermediate class last night. There was this woman with a bearded collie who about fainted when we walked in. I think I won her over when Maverick did a "finish" without any coaxing... he actually does it w/o his lead on.

It amazes me how many people I talk to who have rotties or other large breeds that don't take their dogs to any classes. I could not imagine our lives without it!! To each his own, I suppose.